Study Busts Myth that New Orleans is Sunken City

Posted by The Times-Picayune April 20, 2007 9:50PM, By Leslie Williams, Staff writer

A yearlong topographic and demographic study of New Orleans arrives this month like the latest installment of the television series "MythBusters" -- and may forever change the notion of the Big Easy as a below-sea-level city.

"Contrary to popular perceptions, half of New Orleans is at or above sea level," according to the study by Tulane and Xavier universities' Center for Bioenvironmental Research.

"Innumerable media reports following Hurricane Katrina described the
topography of New Orleans as unconditionally below sea level," the
study notes. "This oversimplification is inaccurate by half, and its
frequent repetition does a great disservice to the city."

The study also shows land above sea level
on the south shore is not concentrated in any one area, but sprinkled
from the river to the lake.

On the at-and-above list are most of the terra firma in the New
Orleans neighborhoods of greater Carrollton, River Bend,
Audubon/University, Uptown, the Garden District, Lower Garden District,
Irish Channel, the French Quarter, Treme, Bayou St. John, the Marigny,
Bywater, Holy Cross, Algiers Point, McDonogh, Lakeshore, Lake Vista,
Lake Terrace and Lake Oaks. Add to that the Warehouse and Central
Business districts, portions of the 6th and 7th wards, Central City and
Mid-City as well as areas along Gentilly Boulevard and Chef Menteur
Highway in eastern New Orleans and terrain along the Mississippi River
in Algiers, City Park Avenue and the Fair Grounds area.

The sea-level study references Jefferson and St. Bernard parishes as
well, noting similiar topography. However it provides a detailed
overview only for the city.